Why average is better than what you have right now!!!!!

The Kenosha News recently did an article on how to pick a dentist and they did the general public a disservice.  The only thing maybe right about it is that you have to be comfortable with your choice and word of mouth is a good start to finding a dentist. That is about all they got right!!! The rest was about as wrong as you could get.

 Most patients are looking for a dentist that has the skills and brains to help you out with your dental problems. Most patients probably assume that is the case with all dentists. So they move on to other criteria like the office and the people working there and probably price/cost is an issue as well.  So lets give you a dental problem like a tooth that needs a crown or a white or silver filling.

 So how do you find a dentist like that? You have two broad choices to choose from. A general dentist or a prosthodontist. How do you know which is better for you?  Since we cannot look at each individual dentist and get a personality or likeability profile which does matter but should not be the sole criteria you use, we have to look at really the most important part, which is training and experience.

 A prosthodontist is a dental specialist in crowns, bridges, partial dentures, complete dentures, dental implants, cosmetic (white fillings, non metal crowns) dentistry.  We are trained in all aspects of restoring teeth and missing teeth. A general dentist goes to school for four years in dental school. A prosthodontist goes to four years of dental school and then three additional years of training and school to become a specialist. There is a difference in education and training.

 Since it can be hard enough to get an appointment let alone interview your dentist prior to going to meet them the training can be your only real divining rod on who to choose. Everyone wants their dentist to be the smartest and most gifted but the reality is most dentists are not by definition at the top of their classes. 90 percent of each class is not in the top 10 percent!

 So lets take the average general dentist and average prosthodontist. Looking at the training and education the average prosthodontist is better trained and better educated than the average general dentist. So in choosing a prosthodontist for your dental work you are getting a better trained and educated dentist than a general dentist! However there is nothing average about what a prosthodontist does for patients.

 So now for that crown or filling you need, I ask you, “Who do you want to do your dental work”?